DAVIS, Calif. (Interstat) — Treynor Cleeland threw four touchdown passes and UC Davis defeated Eastern Washington 49-38 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at UC Davis Health Stadium. The Aggies improved to 4-2. The Eagles fell to 1-5. UC Davis was the home team, and Eastern Washington was the visiting team. The game included several long scoring plays.

UC Davis scored 7 points in the first quarter, 25 in the second, 3 in the third and 14 in the fourth. Eastern Washington scored 9 in the first, 9 in the second, 14 in the third and 6 in the fourth. The Aggies built their advantage with a 25-point second quarter, while the Eagles answered with a 14-point third quarter. Early in the game, S. McKee made a 50-yard field goal for Eastern Washington before Cleeland connected with Samuel Gbatu Jr. on a 50-yard touchdown pass. Zach Jones then broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run. McKee added a 33-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Nate Bell found Jaxon Bell for a 34-yard touchdown. UC Davis later got an 87-yard touchdown run from J. Fisher. In the third quarter, Nate Bell scored on a 6-yard run, but the ensuing two-point attempt failed.

Nate Bell powered Eastern Washington’s offense. He completed 39 of 58 passes for 413 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, and he rushed 16 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Bell was busy in multiple phases, carrying 13 times for 43 yards, catching five passes for 60 yards, returning four kickoffs for 98 yards, returning two punts for 6 yards and scoring a touchdown. Drew Carlson caught six passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Wesley Garrett had seven receptions for 79 yards and made one tackle. Kayden Stuit caught five passes for 46 yards. Rylin Lang added four receptions for 33 yards. Will McKissick caught four passes for 28 yards and a touchdown. David Cabrera had three receptions for 54 yards, two rushes for 8 yards and one tackle. Kevin Allen III ran twice for 10 yards and caught three passes for 4 yards. De’Markus Barnes carried twice for 18 yards. Kaden Rolfsness ran once for 2 yards. Oliver Luebkert caught one pass for 9 yards. Israel Robles had one reception for 5 yards.

Cleeland was the top star for UC Davis. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns, and he ran seven times for 35 yards. Cleeland spread the ball to several receivers. Samuel Gbatu Jr. caught six passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, returned a kickoff and made one tackle. Xzavior Guess had one catch for 56 yards and a score. Laviel Pickett added three receptions for 52 yards. Scott Nixon had one reception for 19 yards. Zach Jones contributed a 67-yard touchdown run, two receptions for 60 yards and a 36-yard kickoff return. Robert Meyer handled kicking duties for the Aggies. In his previous outing against Montana, Cleeland completed 18 of 33 passes for 194 yards, ran for 2 yards on seven carries and scored a rushing touchdown.

UC Davis got a strong defensive effort from several players. Ty Richardson led the way with 13 tackles. Drew Cofield finished with 12 tackles. Brayden Rosa had 11 tackles. Porter Connors recorded 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a kick return. Jackson Sievers added seven tackles. Kameron Totton had two tackles, one quarterback hurry and one interception. Hayden John made four tackles. Grant Garretson had three tackles and one sack. Julian Fernandez contributed two tackles and one sack. Macray Madruga had two tackles and half a sack. Joey Carrillo made one tackle and one sack. Mason Walsh had three tackles. Thomas McCormick had two tackles. Julius Ray and Trent Carrade each recorded one quarterback hurry. Dylan Mauro punted three times for 150 yards. Jackson Fay returned a kickoff for 32 yards, and Drew Faulkner returned one for 30 yards. Charlie Allen, Jake Williams, Rayne Mayo Jr., Albert Richardson, Ike Ikegbu, Jeremiah Brown and Rickey Johnson each made one tackle.

Eastern Washington’s defense was led by Jaylon Jenkins, who had six tackles and one interception. Myles Mayovsky added five tackles. McKel Broussard and Matt Eskridge II each made three tackles. The Eagles also received tackles from Wesley Garrett and David Cabrera, who had one apiece. The Aggies’ defense consistently pressured Bell and came up with stops when needed, while the Eagles’ offense kept pace with a big passing day. UC Davis finished with a balanced attack that combined Cleeland’s four touchdown passes with a productive ground game. Eastern Washington countered through Bell’s arm and legs, but the Eagles could not complete the comeback.

UC Davis moved to 4-2 this season. The Aggies previously lost 62-22 to Montana, beat Stetson 45-7, lost 56-10 at SMU, beat San Diego 49-17 and beat Portland State 31-24. Eastern Washington dropped to 1-5. The Eagles previously lost 31-27 to Cal Poly, lost 48-16 at Washington, lost 41-23 at South Dakota, beat Northern Iowa 34-24 and lost 34-27 at Northern Arizona. UC Davis will next visit Southern Utah and Weber State and will host Northern Colorado, Utah Tech, Idaho and Cal Poly. Eastern Washington will host Northern Colorado, Montana State, Montana and Portland State and will visit Idaho and Utah Tech. The Aggies’ win kept them above .500 as they continue their conference schedule.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UC Davis 52, Eastern Washington 42. Interstat’s ELO system had projected UC Davis with a 93.7 percent probability to win. Eastern Washington had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +10. The total score of 87 went under the over/under line of 61.5.